| Spain | |||
 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| High speed AVE train, Madrid-Barcelona line. | |||
| Operation | |||
| National railway | RENFE | ||
| Infrastructure company | Adif | ||
| Major operators | RENFE, FEVE, EuskoTren, FGC, FGV | ||
| Statistics | |||
| System length | |||
| Total | 14,781 km (9,184 mi) | ||
| Electrified | 8,760 km (5,440 mi) | ||
| Gauge | |||
| Broad gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 52⁄3 in) |
11,829 km (7,350 mi) | ||
| Standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in) |
998 km (620 mi) | ||
| Metre gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 33⁄8 in) |
1,926 km (1,197 mi) | ||
| Narrow gauge 914 mm (3 ft) |
28 km (17 mi) | ||
| Electrification | |||
| 3000 V DC | Main network | ||
| 25 kV AC | High-speed lines, recent electrification | ||
| Features | |||
| Longest tunnel | Sierra de Guadarrama, 28.4 km (17.6 mi) | ||
|
|||
Rail transport in Spain operates on four rail gauges and services are operated by a variety of private and public operators. The total route length in 2004 was 14,781 km (8,791 km electrified):[1]
Most railways are operated by RENFE; metre and narrow-gauge lines are operated by FEVE and other carriers in individual autonomous communities. It is proposed to build or convert more lines to standard gauge, including some dual gauging of broad-gauge lines, especially where these lines link to France.
Contents |
History
The first railway line in Iberia was built in 1848 between Barcelona and Mataró[2] in 1852 the first narrow gauge line was built, in 1863 a line reached the Portugeuse border. By 1864 the Madrid-Irun line had been opened, and the french border reached.[2]
In 1911 the first line to be electrified was the Gergal-Santa Fe line[2]
The last steam locomotive was withdrawn in 1975, in 1986 the maximum speed on the railways was raised to 160km/h, and in 1992 the Madrid Seville high speed line opened[2], beginning the process of building a nationwide high speed network.
The current plans of the Spanish government plans to link all the province capitals with high speed rail, with a total estimated length of over 9000 km[3] of high-speed railways for 2020.
Operators
- Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm Iberian gauge and 1435-mm European gauge networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias).
- FEVE (Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha, meaning Narrow-Gauge Spanish Railways) is a state-owned Spanish railway company, which operates most of Spain's 1,250 km (780 mi) of metre gauge railway.
- EuskoTren (Eusko Trenbideak/Ferrocarriles Vascos – Basque Railways) operates trains on part of the narrow gauge railway network in the Basque Country.
- Ferrocarril de Sóller or FS operates an electrified 914 mm narrow gauge railway on the Spanish island of Majorca, between the towns of Palma and Sóller.
- Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca or SFM operates the metre gauge railway network on the Spanish island of Majorca.
- Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana or FGV operates several metre gauge lines, in the Autonomous Community of Valencia.
- Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government Railways), or FGC operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain. It operates 140 km (87 mi) of metre gauge, 42 km (26 mi) of standard gauge, and 89 km (55 mi) of broad gauge route, two metre gauge rack railways and four funicular railways.
- Acciona Rail Services, subsidiary of Acciona. Operates a cargo line (coal) between Asturias and the province of León.
- COMSA Rail Transport, subsidiary of COMSA, a partner member of European Bulls RailFreight Alliance. Operates a cargo line (clinker containers) from the Port of Gijón to Valladolid and other work.
- Continental Rail. Is dedicated to bringing materials into the gorges of the high-speed lines in Progress
Metro/light rail systems
- Alicante (Alicante Tram)
- Barcelona (Barcelona Metro/Barcelona Tram)
- Bilbao (Bilbao Metro/Bilbao Tram)
- Madrid (Madrid Metro)
- Valencia (Valencia Metro)
- Malaga (Malaga Metro) under construction
- Granada (Granada Tram) under construction
- Palma de Mallorca
- Vitoria-Gasteiz (Vitoria-Gasteiz tram)
- Seville (Seville Metro) under construction
- Parla (Parla Tram or VíaParla)
- Vélez-Málaga under construction due to open September 2006
Rail links with adjacent countries
Andorra - no
France - yes - break-of-gauge 1,668 mm (5 ft 52⁄3 in)/1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in) (new high-speed lines will link without any break-of-gauge)
Portugal - yes - same gauge
Gibraltar - no
Morocco - no - proposed undersea tunnel
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rail transport in Spain |
References
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Spain
- ^ a b c d e Significant events in the history of Spanish infrastructures and railways www.fomento.es
- ^ http://www.fomento.es/MFOM/LANG_CASTELLANO/_ESPECIALES/ALTAVELOCIDAD/ Descubre la Alta Velocidad]
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
